Welcome letter from the Leaders

Thank you for your interest in South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council.

Sharing a management team between councils is not unusual these days, but it was unusual back in 2007 when our Councils took the decision to appoint a shared Chief Executive. That early decision has meant we now share a truly integrated, high performing workforce whilst our Councils retain their distinctive identities. The path has not been an easy one and the last few years have seen a radical reshaping of the Councils, but we have come a long way and are now well set for the future.

Our outgoing CEO has done tremendous work to ensure the organisation is fit for the future so we think our next CEO will probably need to spend proportionately more of their time outside the organisation. There is much work to be done with our communities and partners on key issues such as affordable housing, inclusive economic growth, and improving infrastructure across the District and Borough.

We are ambitious and think there is an awful lot here for someone to get their teeth into, but we have to be thoughtful and creative in our approach. We want to continue our innovative and leading edge approach to delivering public services, create a step change in how we collaborate with our wide range of partners and, most importantly, ensure we really engage with our communities and ensure their future wellbeing remains at the heart of what we do. If you think you can help us, we’d like to hear from you.